Monday, January 28, 2008
Gun-Toting Granny
I guarantee you're going to love this story! Click on the pic if you need the view the larger version.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Sign of the Times
This is too funny. Apparently, this sign posted at Heart Lake United Church in Brampton, Ontario has created some local controversy. Perhaps some of you who live in the area can give us more details.
Some people, not surprisingly, took it's message as a sexual reference. Apparently, some church members don't appreciate that characterization. Now really, church folks, don't try to play wide-eyed and innocent on this one. You knew exactly what you were implying and are embarrassed to have been called on it. Your embarrassment is not necessary. For one thing, it's a funny message. More importantly, there's nothing wrong with sex - except on Sunday morning, apparently. :)
Some people, not surprisingly, took it's message as a sexual reference. Apparently, some church members don't appreciate that characterization. Now really, church folks, don't try to play wide-eyed and innocent on this one. You knew exactly what you were implying and are embarrassed to have been called on it. Your embarrassment is not necessary. For one thing, it's a funny message. More importantly, there's nothing wrong with sex - except on Sunday morning, apparently. :)
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Quiet Weekend Ramblings
Ramble #1: Dave and I are enjoying a quiet weekend at home. Joshua is in San Antonio with the Crossmen and Jonathan is Philadelphia with Maggie and some other friends. The quietude is nice for awhile, but I'll be glad when everyone gets back home.
Ramble #2: Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney won their respective Nevada caucuses today. Now they and about a dozen other candidates are waiting to see what happens in South Carolina. The Republicans have their South Carolina primary today and the Democrats have theirs next Saturday.
Ramble #2A: It appears that John Edwards, hopelessly mired in a distant third place, needs to pull off a miracle recovery in South Carolina to keep his campaign alive. The other Democratic candidates are functionally out of it already. The Democratic race has settled into a race between two horses, the lady and the black guy (the southern guy may figure that out next week). One way or another, the Democratic party is on its way to making history.
Ramble #2B: The Republican party primaries are interesting, as there is absolutely no leading contender in sight. The party appears to be hopelessly fragmented between libertarian minimalist-government cowboys, fundamentalist Christian theocrats, neo-conservative imperialists and classic conservative economists. There's even talk of some conservatives splitting into a third party if they don't like the direction the party ends up taking.
Ramble #3: The Super Bowl will soon be upon us. There will be two Conference Championship games played tomorrow to determine who will play in the Big Game in two weeks. Tomorrow, I anticipate that the Green Bay Packers will beat the New York Giants and the New England Patriots will dispatch the San Diego Chargers. Therefore, the Super Bowl will be Packers vs. Patriots. Notwithstanding the fact that Tom Brady is gorgeous (and the Patriots have a seriously good team), I'd like to see the Packers win it all.
Ramble #4: We had some record-setting hot days last week. I got out to the park one afternoon and shot some geese. I'll share one with you:
Ramble #5: It's time to make supper. Dave is getting the pork chops ready, so I'd better get started on the hash browns and salad. Y'all come back again, y'hear?
Ramble #2: Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney won their respective Nevada caucuses today. Now they and about a dozen other candidates are waiting to see what happens in South Carolina. The Republicans have their South Carolina primary today and the Democrats have theirs next Saturday.
Ramble #2A: It appears that John Edwards, hopelessly mired in a distant third place, needs to pull off a miracle recovery in South Carolina to keep his campaign alive. The other Democratic candidates are functionally out of it already. The Democratic race has settled into a race between two horses, the lady and the black guy (the southern guy may figure that out next week). One way or another, the Democratic party is on its way to making history.
Ramble #2B: The Republican party primaries are interesting, as there is absolutely no leading contender in sight. The party appears to be hopelessly fragmented between libertarian minimalist-government cowboys, fundamentalist Christian theocrats, neo-conservative imperialists and classic conservative economists. There's even talk of some conservatives splitting into a third party if they don't like the direction the party ends up taking.
Ramble #3: The Super Bowl will soon be upon us. There will be two Conference Championship games played tomorrow to determine who will play in the Big Game in two weeks. Tomorrow, I anticipate that the Green Bay Packers will beat the New York Giants and the New England Patriots will dispatch the San Diego Chargers. Therefore, the Super Bowl will be Packers vs. Patriots. Notwithstanding the fact that Tom Brady is gorgeous (and the Patriots have a seriously good team), I'd like to see the Packers win it all.
Ramble #4: We had some record-setting hot days last week. I got out to the park one afternoon and shot some geese. I'll share one with you:
Ramble #5: It's time to make supper. Dave is getting the pork chops ready, so I'd better get started on the hash browns and salad. Y'all come back again, y'hear?
Friday, January 11, 2008
Universal Scale
This is really cool. I came across these pictures depicting the relative sizes of various bodies in our solar system. The magnitude of our solar system alone is staggering. When one considers that our system is merely one of billions scattered throughout space, the immensity of the universe is inconceivable.
First, we have Earth, Venus, Mars, Mercury, Earth's Moon:
Next we have Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Earth, Venus, Mars, Mercury, Earth's Moon:
Finally, our Sun, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Earth, Venus, Mars & Mercury, which is about the size of one pixel and barely visible. Our moon is too small to fit into this scale:
I don't know about you, but I'm awed and humbled by this.
First, we have Earth, Venus, Mars, Mercury, Earth's Moon:
Next we have Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Earth, Venus, Mars, Mercury, Earth's Moon:
Finally, our Sun, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Earth, Venus, Mars & Mercury, which is about the size of one pixel and barely visible. Our moon is too small to fit into this scale:
I don't know about you, but I'm awed and humbled by this.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Monday, January 07, 2008
Wanted: One Birthday Cake & One Spellchecker
One Birthday Cake:
This is a busy time of year in our household. Jonathan turned 24 yesterday and David has a birthday (age undisclosed - you did not find it here!) today. We began celebrating both birthdays with a family lunch at the Outback Steak House yesterday afternoon. We will finish celebrating both birthdays by sharing a birthday cake this evening. Dave is excited because he will get to see a whole cake tonight. Usually, we start with a whole cake on Jonathan's birthday and finish the remainder on Dave's. My problem is figuring out how to put 76 candles on the cake!
One Spellchecker:
This is a busy time of year in our household. Jonathan turned 24 yesterday and David has a birthday (age undisclosed - you did not find it here!) today. We began celebrating both birthdays with a family lunch at the Outback Steak House yesterday afternoon. We will finish celebrating both birthdays by sharing a birthday cake this evening. Dave is excited because he will get to see a whole cake tonight. Usually, we start with a whole cake on Jonathan's birthday and finish the remainder on Dave's. My problem is figuring out how to put 76 candles on the cake!
One Spellchecker:
Thursday, January 03, 2008
It's Iowa Caucus Day!
Just in case any of you missed the news, today is the day of the Iowa caucus. Contrary to what you may have believed, the American presidential campaign has not started yet. It will begin tonight, in public buildings throughout all 99 of Iowa's counties.
I participated in the Iowa caucus in 2000. Since I had to register as a member of one of the two major parties to do so, I registered as a Democrat. Some states, such as Virginia, hold open primaries, meaning that one does not have to be registered in a party to vote in the primary. That's good, because I'm currently registered as an independent voter with no party affiliation. Now, a caucus is not a primary. A primary election is simply one in which people vote for the candidates that they want to nominate to run in the upcoming general election. Thus, party membership need not be a necessary condition for participation in the primaries, although it is in some states.
A caucus, on the other hand, is the venue in which lots of party business gets done. In addition to selecting nominees for the general election, caucus participants elect delegates to the party's state convention and assign people to work on various election committees. I will confess that I was appointed to some committee in which I never participated after caucus night. My dissertation got in the way of my politics. I did, however, act as a voting place monitor on election day later that year.
Anyway, on the night that I participated in the caucus, I ventured up the hill to Jonathan's high school and met with several hundred other people from my voting precinct. We broke up into groups of 50 or so and met in classrooms throughout the school to conduct our business. The two principal Democratic candidates at that time were Bill Bradley and Al Gore. There may have been other candidates, but I can't recall who they would have been. In my classroom, about 13 people lined up on one side of the room to declare support for Bill Bradley. The remainder, 25-35 people or so, lined up on the other side to show their support for Al Gore. The totals from each room were tallied, and by the end of the evening, we knew that Gore had won our precinct's caucus by a substantial margin. That part of the meeting, which took about 10 minutes and was the only reason I wanted to participate in the caucus at all, was the most interesting portion of the evening. The excitement and interest factors plunged quickly from that point. For the next hour or so there was lots of talk about the state convention and its delegates, and even more talk about committees. After all of that excitement, I went home and shared my experience and any wisdom gained thereby with Dave and the boys.
If I still lived in Iowa, I'd be registered with a party and attending the caucus again this evening. This time, I would also be able to accept a committee appointment more responsibly. Since I live in Virginia, I will participate in our state primary next month instead. Joshua and Dave are looking forward to participating and I think we may be able to get Jonathan to come along too.
One last word: when the football game goes on commercial breaks tonight, flip the channel and take a peek at the Iowa caucuses. After all, tonight is when the campaign really begins!
I participated in the Iowa caucus in 2000. Since I had to register as a member of one of the two major parties to do so, I registered as a Democrat. Some states, such as Virginia, hold open primaries, meaning that one does not have to be registered in a party to vote in the primary. That's good, because I'm currently registered as an independent voter with no party affiliation. Now, a caucus is not a primary. A primary election is simply one in which people vote for the candidates that they want to nominate to run in the upcoming general election. Thus, party membership need not be a necessary condition for participation in the primaries, although it is in some states.
A caucus, on the other hand, is the venue in which lots of party business gets done. In addition to selecting nominees for the general election, caucus participants elect delegates to the party's state convention and assign people to work on various election committees. I will confess that I was appointed to some committee in which I never participated after caucus night. My dissertation got in the way of my politics. I did, however, act as a voting place monitor on election day later that year.
Anyway, on the night that I participated in the caucus, I ventured up the hill to Jonathan's high school and met with several hundred other people from my voting precinct. We broke up into groups of 50 or so and met in classrooms throughout the school to conduct our business. The two principal Democratic candidates at that time were Bill Bradley and Al Gore. There may have been other candidates, but I can't recall who they would have been. In my classroom, about 13 people lined up on one side of the room to declare support for Bill Bradley. The remainder, 25-35 people or so, lined up on the other side to show their support for Al Gore. The totals from each room were tallied, and by the end of the evening, we knew that Gore had won our precinct's caucus by a substantial margin. That part of the meeting, which took about 10 minutes and was the only reason I wanted to participate in the caucus at all, was the most interesting portion of the evening. The excitement and interest factors plunged quickly from that point. For the next hour or so there was lots of talk about the state convention and its delegates, and even more talk about committees. After all of that excitement, I went home and shared my experience and any wisdom gained thereby with Dave and the boys.
If I still lived in Iowa, I'd be registered with a party and attending the caucus again this evening. This time, I would also be able to accept a committee appointment more responsibly. Since I live in Virginia, I will participate in our state primary next month instead. Joshua and Dave are looking forward to participating and I think we may be able to get Jonathan to come along too.
One last word: when the football game goes on commercial breaks tonight, flip the channel and take a peek at the Iowa caucuses. After all, tonight is when the campaign really begins!
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
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